Women's Rights During The French Revolution

The French Revolution intended to accomplish three main goals: liberty, equality and fraternity. The liberty that the revolutionaries wanted was the freedom from an oppressive government, particularly the absolute monarchy King Louis XVI headed before the revolution. An emphasis was put on fraternity because the French believed that without unification, their goals would never be accomplished. Equality under the law regardless of socioeconomic class was desired, not equality under the law regardless of gender. Despite egalitarianism not being the main intent of the revolution, women’s rights’ advocacy saw its beginnings in France during this time. This can be attributed to the many different ideas circulating about what equality meant and how women should be viewed under the law and by society. As far as the law went, women did gain some rights throughout the revolution. They also started to involve themselves in politics, and although they were not allowed as much of a voice as men were, they participated much more than they did prior to

They did not emerge completely successful, but given the time period the progress made was astounding. From all of the laws passed by the National Assembly to the writings and speeches written by women, their voices were heard more than they ever had been in France and their lives improved as they had more freedom during the revolution. The aftermath was not beneficial to women, certainly, but the advancements made during the revolution were too large to be thoroughly decimated by the way later governments would run France. While the rewards for their work came much later, it was not done in vain. The French Revolution continues to be one of the most contested topics in modern history, but it seems clear that women profited from their involvement in it in the long